Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Fish tale

The first thing I saw was an osprey laboriously flying upstream with a fish.  A pelican headed downstream did a midair U-turn to chase after it.  Was it hoping the fish would drop?  I don't think a pelican could attack an osprey, except maybe through sheer size.  Meanwhile, a great blue heron stood on the bulkhead and just watched.  A little later, cormorants popped up all over the creek.  Then another heron arrived and the two got into a dispute.  One landed on our dock.  The other plunged into the creek for a fish.  All this time gulls were circling and playing on the wind.  Several were great black backs and one landed on a piling.

The sun is bright but the wind is fierce, pushing the clouds East so fast they should have cartoon speed lines behind them. There's no sign of yesterday's weather except that the birdbath is full. Up by the feeder, it was just the regulars and the sparrows.  The cardinal pairs continue their turf war. This female lost and must forage in the mulch while the winner sits on the feeder. 

At lunch, we were visited by a male towhee, titmice, juncos, and a Carolina wren, in addition to the others.  The camera developed a problem just as the towhee showed up.  On and over the creek, the show continued.  Two crows harassed a buzzard up and down the creek's airspace.  I may have seen an eagle behind the trees.  There are more clouds and a little less wind, but they're still moving East quickly. 

It may be time for a new camera.  Toward evening, an osprey fished successfully.  Three herons raced downstream.  The cloudless sky glowed in the West. 

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